A "Force" baby

A Snoke "creation"

Unknown parents / unimportant to the story

Nearly two years after the release of THE FORCE AWAKENS this is still a hotly debated question among Star Wars fans and moviegoers in general. Visit any number of Star Wars forums and you'll see varying theories about her lineage. But, this being a more mainstream forum with mainstream filmgoers and not necessarily the overly-obsessive types that frequent those types of Star Wars boards; I'm curious to know who YOU think Rey's parents are.

I'm inclined to think she may be a Force "creation" much like Anakin Skywalker.
It would:
a) deepen the rift between Kylo and Rey, where she is a true "Heir To The Force", like the grandfather he adores
b) explain Luke's fear, as he's thinking "not again!" now that he knows the story of his father
c) be more interesting than her being some random galaxy denizen with off-the-charts Force abilities; although both possibilities have their story-breaking aspects if one thinks too hard about it

A Kenobi lineage would be neat but not as interesting, I'd say. Still, if that were the impetus for a Obi-Wan movie starring Ewan, to give some context to old Ben's wandering-the-desert years, I'd be down with that. Plus it'd be in line with his appearance in Rey's Force vision from Force Awakens.

I'm going to try to put into the simplest terms why I think Rey is Luke's daughter.

At the end of the day, these are movies made for the masses, not for the hardcore fans. They have to be easily digestible and understood by most people. If the filmmakers were to make the reveal of Rey's parents something that didn't make logical sense in the storyline they would risk alienating large portions of the audience. To me, that rules out the possibility of Rey being some sort creation by Snoke, like a reincarnation of Anakin Skywalker or a virgin birth ("force baby").

That leaves three likely options that are within the realm of possibility. Ruling out the angle of being Obi-Wan's great-granddaughter due to confusing timelines and characters that are no longer in the foreground. From least likely of these to the most likely...

Han Solo/Princess Leia ― There are some hints in THE FORCE AWAKENS that Han recognizes things about Rey after meeting her and spending time with her. Perhaps things that remind him of someone he once knew (more on that in a minute). Or that this is his own daughter. I think it's more likely that Han and Leia know her, or come to realize they know who she is without overtly saying so. To me, the biggest thing ruling out Han and Leia is Maz Kanata's line to Han: "Who's the girl?". If Han's answer was "my daughter", I think the rest of the film takes on a different tone and it would be odd if Han did not acknowledge this later on at some point. No, I think knows who she is but doesn't come out and say so for reasons that perhaps have yet to be revealed to us.

Unknown Parents ― This is a deviation to me from the most likely possibility. I think this is could be something Disney would do. Telling little kids (little girls) that it doesn't matter if you come from some important lineage you can be anything you set your mind to be. This is Disney, home of Princess', after all. At one time, this was a theory that I went with precisely because of who is making these films. That maybe Rey would be another in a long line of Disney Princesses but that she would perhaps even take the name "Skywalker" to match her mentor, etc. Could still be a possibility. This was openly theorized by some astute viewers right after the film was released and out of all the none direct blood line possibilities, this is the one that seemed the most likely.

Luke Skywalker/Unknown mother ― I've had days where I think the "Unknown Parents" angle was definitely the leading contender but then I keep coming back to little things like "The next chapter in the Skywalker saga arrives December 2017." They have gone out of their way to tell us that this trilogy is a continuation of the Skywalker family. And while it feels nice to analyze things in a way the could point in any number of directions I think that Occam's Razor can point us in the right direction: "The simplest solution is usually the correct one".

I thought back to when I saw the film and my gut reaction to what I had seen and felt as Rey and Luke finally meet on Ahch-To. I left the theater on the night the film opened feeling like I had just seen Rey find her father. All of the critical clues in the film point the viewer in that direction.

The parallels of where we first encounter Rey (a desert planet).

She's good with droids, even conversing with them like they were human.

She has a speeder that she uses to get around on, just like Luke did.

She's a natural pilot, even though there's little evidence she's done much piloting.

She calls the Falcon "garbage" (Luke called it "junk").

She escapes from the planet she lives on via the Falcon, just like Luke did.

Luke's lightsaber calls her specifically.

When Maz tells Rey that the people she's waiting for aren't coming back she said someone still could, she answers "Luke".

Rey uses the force to extract the Luke's lightsaber out of the snow, just like Luke once did.

The music used at this moment is "The Ways of the Force" w/'Burning Homestead' Cue. This was only ever used one other time in all Star Wars films: when Luke discovers Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru killed.

Leia greets Rey as if she knows (or senses she knows) who she is. That's an embrace of familial love.

Rey seemingly knows exactly where to land among all islands, she knows exactly where to go. Maybe because she's actually been there before, long ago.

Upon seeing Rey seeing Luke, there's a sense of recognition and maybe some regret shown on Luke's face. Rey seems to be on the verge of tears.

One last little caveat I'm willing to accept. It's possible that Abrams and Kasdan left it just ambiguous enough so Rian Johnson could take the story in whatever direction he wanted. But on this point, I don't think so. They did leave him wiggle room on many fronts but I think it was established early on that this girl is the daughter of Luke Skywalker. I don't think that's the big "reveal" from THE LAST JEDI. There will invariably be one, to be certain. And I would be foolish to presume I could correctly predict what that might be. I will hazard a guess though: Kylo Ren (Ben) murdered Luke's wife (Rey's mother) and stole Rey and put her on Jakku so Luke would think she was dead. That would explain Luke's reaction to her when she shows up out of nowhere and also explain why Ben, on multiple occasions says "What girl?" and in the novelization of THE FORCE AWAKENS says "It is you!" to Rey.

Lastly, one little Easter Egg. Wayyy back in early 2015 Disney released some digital trading cards to match the original Star Wars trading cards from 1977. JJ Abrams was asked by Entertainment Weekly at the time 'if there was significance to the numbering', Abrams replied: “YES.”

I read a theory after Force Awakens that her parents are the two main characters from the book Lost Stars (the best of the books leading up to Force Awakens IMO, even though it is intended for teenage readers). I would love it if that were the case. Of course it won't be because not enough people would know about them.

I'm going to try to put into the simplest terms why I think Rey is Luke's daughter.

At the end of the day, these are movies made for the masses, not for the hardcore fans. They have to be easily digestible and understood by most people. If the filmmakers were to make the reveal of Rey's parents something that didn't make logical sense in the storyline they would risk alienating large portions of the audience. To me, that rules out the possibility of Rey being some sort creation by Snoke, like a reincarnation of Anakin Skywalker or a virgin birth ("force baby").

That leaves three likely options that are within the realm of possibility. Ruling out the angle of being Obi-Wan's great-granddaughter due to confusing timelines and characters that are no longer in the foreground. From least likely of these to the most likely...

Han Solo/Princess Leia ― There are some hints in THE FORCE AWAKENS that Han recognizes things about Rey after meeting her and spending time with her. Perhaps things that remind him of someone he once knew (more on that in a minute). Or that this is his own daughter. I think it's more likely that Han and Leia know her, or come to realize they know who she is without overtly saying so. To me, the biggest thing ruling out Han and Leia is Maz Kanata's line to Han: "Who's the girl?". If Han's answer was "my daughter", I think the rest of the film takes on a different tone and it would be odd if Han did not acknowledge this later on at some point. No, I think knows who she is but doesn't come out and say so for reasons that perhaps have yet to be revealed to us.

Unknown Parents ― This is a deviation to me from the most likely possibility. I think this is could be something Disney would do. Telling little kids (little girls) that it doesn't matter if you come from some important lineage you can be anything you set your mind to be. This is Disney, home of Princess', after all. At one time, this was a theory that I went with precisely because of who is making these films. That maybe Rey would be another in a long line of Disney Princesses but that she would perhaps even take the name "Skywalker" to match her mentor, etc. Could still be a possibility. This was openly theorized by some astute viewers right after the film was released and out of all the none direct blood line possibilities, this is the one that seemed the most likely.

Luke Skywalker/Unknown mother ― I've had days where I think the "Unknown Parents" angle was definitely the leading contender but then I keep coming back to little things like "The next chapter in the Skywalker saga arrives December 2017." They have gone out of their way to tell us that this trilogy is a continuation of the Skywalker family. And while it feels nice to analyze things in a way the could point in any number of directions I think that Occam's Razor can point us in the right direction: "The simplest solution is usually the correct one".

I thought back to when I saw the film and my gut reaction to what I had seen and felt as Rey and Luke finally meet on Ahch-To. I left the theater on the night the film opened feeling like I had just seen Rey find her father. All of the critical clues in the film point the viewer in that direction.

The parallels of where we first encounter Rey (a desert planet).

She's good with droids, even conversing with them like they were human.

She has a speeder that she uses to get around on, just like Luke did.

She's a natural pilot, even though there's little evidence she's done much piloting.

She calls the Falcon "garbage" (Luke called it "junk").

She escapes from the planet she lives on via the Falcon, just like Luke did.

Luke's lightsaber calls her specifically.

When Maz tells Rey that the people she's waiting for aren't coming back she said someone still could, she answers "Luke".

Rey uses the force to extract the Luke's lightsaber out of the snow, just like Luke once did.

The music used at this moment is "The Ways of the Force" w/'Burning Homestead' Cue. This was only ever used one other time in all Star Wars films: when Luke discovers Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru killed.

Leia greets Rey as if she knows (or senses she knows) who she is. That's an embrace of familial love.

Rey seemingly knows exactly where to land among all islands, she knows exactly where to go. Maybe because she's actually been there before, long ago.

Upon seeing Rey seeing Luke, there's a sense of recognition and maybe some regret shown on Luke's face. Rey seems to be on the verge of tears.

One last little caveat I'm willing to accept. It's possible that Abrams and Kasdan left it just ambiguous enough so Rian Johnson could take the story in whatever direction he wanted. But on this point, I don't think so. They did leave him wiggle room on many fronts but I think it was established early on that this girl is the daughter of Luke Skywalker. I don't think that's the big "reveal" from THE LAST JEDI. There will invariably be one, to be certain. And I would be foolish to presume I could correctly predict what that might be. I will hazard a guess though: Kylo Ren (Ben) murdered Luke's wife (Rey's mother) and stole Rey and put her on Jakku so Luke would think she was dead. That would explain Luke's reaction to her when she shows up out of nowhere and also explain why Ben, on multiple occasions says "What girl?" and in the novelization of THE FORCE AWAKENS says "It is you!" to Rey.

Lastly, one little Easter Egg. Wayyy back in early 2015 Disney released some digital trading cards to match the original Star Wars trading cards from 1977. JJ Abrams was asked by Entertainment Weekly at the time 'if there was significance to the numbering', Abrams replied: “YES.”

I'm going to try to put into the simplest terms why I think Rey is Luke's daughter.

At the end of the day, these are movies made for the masses, not for the hardcore fans. They have to be easily digestible and understood by most people. If the filmmakers were to make the reveal of Rey's parents something that didn't make logical sense in the storyline they would risk alienating large portions of the audience. To me, that rules out the possibility of Rey being some sort creation by Snoke, like a reincarnation of Anakin Skywalker or a virgin birth ("force baby").

That leaves three likely options that are within the realm of possibility. Ruling out the angle of being Obi-Wan's great-granddaughter due to confusing timelines and characters that are no longer in the foreground. From least likely of these to the most likely...

Han Solo/Princess Leia ― There are some hints in THE FORCE AWAKENS that Han recognizes things about Rey after meeting her and spending time with her. Perhaps things that remind him of someone he once knew (more on that in a minute). Or that this is his own daughter. I think it's more likely that Han and Leia know her, or come to realize they know who she is without overtly saying so. To me, the biggest thing ruling out Han and Leia is Maz Kanata's line to Han: "Who's the girl?". If Han's answer was "my daughter", I think the rest of the film takes on a different tone and it would be odd if Han did not acknowledge this later on at some point. No, I think knows who she is but doesn't come out and say so for reasons that perhaps have yet to be revealed to us.

Unknown Parents ― This is a deviation to me from the most likely possibility. I think this is could be something Disney would do. Telling little kids (little girls) that it doesn't matter if you come from some important lineage you can be anything you set your mind to be. This is Disney, home of Princess', after all. At one time, this was a theory that I went with precisely because of who is making these films. That maybe Rey would be another in a long line of Disney Princesses but that she would perhaps even take the name "Skywalker" to match her mentor, etc. Could still be a possibility. This was openly theorized by some astute viewers right after the film was released and out of all the none direct blood line possibilities, this is the one that seemed the most likely.

Luke Skywalker/Unknown mother ― I've had days where I think the "Unknown Parents" angle was definitely the leading contender but then I keep coming back to little things like "The next chapter in the Skywalker saga arrives December 2017." They have gone out of their way to tell us that this trilogy is a continuation of the Skywalker family. And while it feels nice to analyze things in a way the could point in any number of directions I think that Occam's Razor can point us in the right direction: "The simplest solution is usually the correct one".

I thought back to when I saw the film and my gut reaction to what I had seen and felt as Rey and Luke finally meet on Ahch-To. I left the theater on the night the film opened feeling like I had just seen Rey find her father. All of the critical clues in the film point the viewer in that direction.

The parallels of where we first encounter Rey (a desert planet).

She's good with droids, even conversing with them like they were human.

She has a speeder that she uses to get around on, just like Luke did.

She's a natural pilot, even though there's little evidence she's done much piloting.

She calls the Falcon "garbage" (Luke called it "junk").

She escapes from the planet she lives on via the Falcon, just like Luke did.

Luke's lightsaber calls her specifically.

When Maz tells Rey that the people she's waiting for aren't coming back she said someone still could, she answers "Luke".

Rey uses the force to extract the Luke's lightsaber out of the snow, just like Luke once did.

The music used at this moment is "The Ways of the Force" w/'Burning Homestead' Cue. This was only ever used one other time in all Star Wars films: when Luke discovers Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru killed.

Leia greets Rey as if she knows (or senses she knows) who she is. That's an embrace of familial love.

Rey seemingly knows exactly where to land among all islands, she knows exactly where to go. Maybe because she's actually been there before, long ago.

Upon seeing Rey seeing Luke, there's a sense of recognition and maybe some regret shown on Luke's face. Rey seems to be on the verge of tears.

One last little caveat I'm willing to accept. It's possible that Abrams and Kasdan left it just ambiguous enough so Rian Johnson could take the story in whatever direction he wanted. But on this point, I don't think so. They did leave him wiggle room on many fronts but I think it was established early on that this girl is the daughter of Luke Skywalker. I don't think that's the big "reveal" from THE LAST JEDI. There will invariably be one, to be certain. And I would be foolish to presume I could correctly predict what that might be. I will hazard a guess though: Kylo Ren (Ben) murdered Luke's wife (Rey's mother) and stole Rey and put her on Jakku so Luke would think she was dead. That would explain Luke's reaction to her when she shows up out of nowhere and also explain why Ben, on multiple occasions says "What girl?" and in the novelization of THE FORCE AWAKENS says "It is you!" to Rey.

Lastly, one little Easter Egg. Wayyy back in early 2015 Disney released some digital trading cards to match the original Star Wars trading cards from 1977. JJ Abrams was asked by Entertainment Weekly at the time 'if there was significance to the numbering', Abrams replied: “YES.”

...he could've said "Not really." or "NO."

Click to expand...

You make some very good points. There was a time when I was leaning toward Rey being a Kenobi. At this point, I have no idea. Regarding your point about this saga being a Skywalker saga, Rey being the daughter of Han and Leia would not negate her being part of the Skywalker bloodline. She would not bear the name Skywalker, but she would still be part of the lineage, as Leia is Anakin Skywalker's daughter as well.

You make some very good points. There was a time when I was leaning toward Rey being a Kenobi. At this point, I have no idea. Regarding your point about this saga being a Skywalker saga, Rey being the daughter of Han and Leia would not negate her being part of the Skywalker bloodline. She would not bear the name Skywalker, but she would still be part of the lineage, as Leia is Anakin Skywalker's daughter as well.